THE TRIANGLE SPIDER 103 



seemed concerned, but as the thread caught on a 

 near-by twig she seized it and stretched it tight. 

 This accomplished, she again settled down to her 

 task of holding on. But I was not through with 

 her. Work she must. I made bold to take away 

 the whole thread, even going so far as to poke 

 her small body with my pencil. She now retreated 

 up the twig, spinning as she went. As she toiled 

 upward only six of her eight legs could have 

 been used in walking. The other two were other- 

 wise engaged. As she stepped along she pulled 

 from her spinning tubes the fine silken thread. 

 She drew it out "by hand," as it were, using now 

 the right, now the left hind foot for the purpose. 

 When she reached a point four or five inches 

 from her starting place she pulled out a loop of 

 thread, then quickly touched the end of her body 

 to the twig. The silk stuck fast. She turned 

 round and went back over the thread, spinning a 

 second in the same fashion, and attaching it at 

 the point of first departure. Having made the 

 double line to her liking, she turned her tail to 

 the attached end, seized the line as far forward as 

 she could reach, pulled it tight and settled herself 

 at the same old game of holding on. Over and 

 over she repeated this performance, varying it by 

 sometimes spinning a single thread. 



Obliged to her for her efforts I returned to my 

 first ^friend, to find her where I had left her. If 

 she had moved while I was away there was noth- 

 ing to show for it. I came again several hours 

 later to find her still holding her own, a very 



